Acoarst that is true but as you put it, ”they can call it manual all they want, but ... “, fact is they must call it manual in order to provide instruction for the user. They must call it manual cuz the mode dial is marked “M”.

I happen to usually refer to it (when writing) as “M-mode” rather than “Manual”. That reflects the marking on dial without raising “The Big Argument”. I don’t write it that way to skirt “the argument”. I do it cuz it’s consistent with with writing “S-mode”, “A-mode” etc. It’s really about not typing out the longer words like “Aperture”, “Program”, etc. IOW it’s about laziness rather than correctness, for me.

I do imagine you’d be happier if “M-mode” supplanted “Manual” in general usage when referring to the mode dial setting, while “MANUAL” is reserved ONLY for actually operating in a fully manual, truly manual, way of working.

Thaz your beef, the difference between a mode name (dial setting) and an actual way of working. And while we agree in concept, you care about the usage of terms but most others don’t care. THEY all know what THEY all mean: “M” is still “M” even when using Auto ISO, cuz it says so on the mode dial. Then acoarst you object when “M”-the-dial-setting is thoughtlessly spelled out or spoken as “Manual”-the-word, with all the possible meaning attached to the word.

What is your suggestion for a new more honest and accurate replacement for the legacy “M” on the mode dial ? And likewise what is your suggestion to replace the legacy “B” or “Bulb mode” since the pneumatic bulb vanished a century ago ? What about Canon’s stoopid substitutions of Av and Tv for A and S ? I know the origin of it, and it was NOT about accuracy.

You’re never gonna fix it. You know that. You just like to periodically announce that “I’m grumpy and I’m smarter than all you ninnies”. Well, that may well be true, but nobody really gives a ratsass. As Bugs Bunny often put it “Would you mind taking your silly problems down the hall to somebody who really cares?”.